2013-08-28

Acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI)， previously called acute renal failure， has chiefly been described as a syndrome since World War 2. Traditionally ‘acute renal failure’ was regarded as a less c..显示全部 >>

Acute kidney injury (AKI)， previously called acute renal failure， has chiefly been described as a syndrome since World War 2. Traditionally ‘acute renal failure’ was regarded as a less common organ failure， with patients typically requiring dialysis and managed by nephrologists. This view has now been overturned. AKI encompasses a wide spectrum of injury to the kidneys， not just ‘kidney failure’.It is a common problem amongst hospitalised patients， in particular the elderly population whose numbers are increasing as people live longer. Such patients are usually under the care of doctors practicing in specialties other than nephrology. For normal function the kidneys require a competent circulation. Conversely， it is known that renal function is vulnerable to even relative or quite modest hypotension or hypovolaemia. Hence AKI is a feature of many severe illnesses. Although theseillnesses may affect many organs， the simple process of monitoring urine output and/or creatinine permits detection of AKI.